Start the New Year Right!

New Year’s is just around the corner, and you’ve probably already been asked if you have any New Year resolutions. Resolutions don’t often work for long, yet we make them anyway.

This year, shake up your resolution-making. Get away from the long, detailed list, and focus on a few more important and probably more impactful choices that can steer your course differently for the whole year!

1. Meditate

All right, meditating sounds like a pretty vague resolution, and that’s mostly because it is.

Meditation can mean different things to different people, but the important thing is to take some time during the day to be peaceful, think, and reflect. Your mind needs the recharge, and all those things that would normally be resolutions may fall better into place when you’re coming from a more peaceful mental perspective.

2. Find a New Hobby

The best thing about the new year, and the reason we make resolutions in the first place, is the new part. It feels exciting and fresh to have a chance to start in a whole new year.

So why not find something new that gets you excited? A new hobby could be just the thing to give you new passion and motivation.

There’s any number of things to get involved with: photography, art, rock climbing, writing, decorating, music… Start with friends and family–what are some of the hobbies the people closest to you enjoy, and are there any you’ve been interested in? You might find something you’ll love for the rest of your life!

3. Create One New Habit

The real key to making the more traditional-style resolutions work is turning them into habits. Instead of making a whole list of new habits to try to develop all at once, though; pick one new thing to turn into a habit.

It could be something like going for a 15 minute walk at lunch every day or drinking a gallon of water every day. You could use your new habit to keep in touch with friends by committing to write one email, letter, or text a week checking up on someone you know.

Whatever you decide, make it something easy to achieve and focus on just the one habit. Being successful might even spur you on to make more good habits.

Make this the year that you do something different–replace your list of resolutions with just a few focused choices made to improve your total outlook!